Back in march I did a review of a green laser from TechLasers. Just like after my review of the NJOY e-cigarette, similar companies from all over emailed me in the months following, asking me to review their products. My policy is to not review a product without being able to actually try it. Most companies, e-cigarette and laser alike, wouldn’t put up the product for review. WarnLaser took up the challenge after I agreed to throw in some free advertising. I figure If I give the laser away, that should be a fair trade. So I agreed, and today, my package arrived.

The package had to go through U.S. Customs and Homeland Security who, it seems, rifled through it looking for bombs and other nasty things. So I wonder… Did they take the AAA batteries, or did WarnLaser just not send it with any? We may never know. The package did include one green laser and one instructional (and warning) paper.

I threw some brand new batteries in the laser and started playing. Unfortunately, this laser doesn’t turn on every time I tried, but it worked about 95% of the time.

First I started with some visual tests, some of which can be seen in the video below. I pointed it into the (aircraft-free) sky and as expected, it was bright as far as I could see. I pointed it at my outdoor lights and it looked pretty cool. Then I tried it in running water, which looked even cooler.

What I really wanted to know, though is if this laser had the same power as the one’s they show in their videos. I put this thing through a couple tests. I still don’t have any black balloons, but this time, I did happen to have some black construction paper. I tried burning it, but there was no love. I tried burning a leaf, which did make a tiny mark on it and lighting a candle, which did not light. Finally, I pointed it at a stick of incense and got a little bit of smoke, but nothing solid. I shot some video, but it was incredibly boring, so I’m sparing you. To be fair, this is not the same 300mW laser they show in the videos. Until some company sends me a 300+mW laser, you probably won’t see me popping balloons or lighting things on fire with it. However, these things are a lot of fun for the price.

Now about the fate of this laser. As I mentioned above, I’ve decided to give the laser away. So watch later today for details on how you can win my laser.

About the author

Joe Colburn is a software engineer specializing in PHP and a technology enthusiast. Always eager to dive into new and exciting things, Joe writes about anything technology related news and products that he thinks you will also be excited about. Find Joe Colburn on Google+ or by any of the links below.

I bought one of the really strong green lasers about 2 years ago (look and packaging is almost exactly the same as yours)- great party trick. spotting mountain slopes aver 2 miles away – in hotel windows waaaaaay down the strip in vegas etc – coming through a hotel window it lights up the whole room.

Flashing tailgaiters happens occasionally when i remember to have it in the car.